“Smoke-free workplaces make good sense for both health and our economy, so I hope the Kentucky legislature will make it happen,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who helped the UK basketball team win a national championship in 1996 and then played for several NBA teams, threw his support behind a bill that would ban smoking in all indoor workplaces and public places in Kentucky. Twenty-three communities in the state, including Lexington and Louisville, already have such a ban. Williamsburg is the most recent.

Several hundred people crowded into the Capitol Rotunda for the rally to urge lawmakers to approve House Bill 190, sponsored by Reps. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, and Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville. The bill was approved by the House Health and Welfare Committee last week and now awaits action by the full House.

Anderson said passage of a statewide smoking ban would show “love for all Kentuckians,” adding that he even loves University of Louisville fans.

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson, who followed Anderson in the speaking rotation, said” if Derek Anderson can proclaim his love for U of L fans, Kentucky can become smoke-free.”

Adkisson then repeated what Anderson whispered to him: “Until we play each other.”

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, is not convinced the legislature should adopt such a ban. He has said the issue should be left up to local communities to decide.

But Westrom, who has pushed the bill for three years, said a statewide ban is badly needed. “We just have too many people to protect,” she said.

Beshear, who later acknowledged that he smoked in college but quit soon afterwards, said Kentucky ranks No. 1 in the nation in smoking and lung cancer.

“Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs and literally kills our people,” he said. “Yet we’ve never instituted a statewide law to protect Kentuckians from secondhand smoke.

Beshear noted that more than a third of Kentuckians live in communities that have adopted smoking bans

“It’s time that we extend that protection to all Kentuckians,” he said.

Adkisson said smoking costs the state’s economy $3.8 billion a year in health care costs and lost productivity.

“Smoking is costing employers in lost productivity, in their health insurance premiums and in their tax bills,” Adkisson said. “This drain on our precious financial resources is preventable, and we need to take action now.”

State Public Health Commissioner Stephanie Mayfield Gibson said smoking increases the risks of several types of cancer and worsens diseases like diabetes and asthma. She noted a UK study that showed that illnesses like asthma and heart attacks decreased after Lexington adopted a smoking ban.

Other Kentucky championship teams after that, though, got rings and Wednesday night the 1996 national champions got their UK rings during a halftime ceremony of Kentucky’s win over Mississippi State.

“This means a lot to all of us,” said Wayne Turner, a backup guard in 1996 who also was UK’s starting point guard on the 1998 national title team. “We appreciate coach (John) Calipari taking care of this for us.”

Most of the players on the team were present and three — Nazr Mohammed, Allen Edwards and Mark Pope — who couldn’t be had messages played on the video boards at Rupp Arena. However, players such as Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Anthony Epps, Antoine Walker and Jeff Sheppard were all there.

Calipari was coaching at Massachusetts when UK won the 1996 national championship. His team beat UK¿during the regular season but lost to the Wildcats in the Final Four.

“Let me just tell you the best thing, they were terrific players. They sacrificed more than any team I’d ever seen. When you talk about guys getting 20 minutes who deserved 40 minutes and accepting it, it was incredible,” Calipari said. “The other side of it is you’re talking about a very intelligent group of young people. Now you’re seeing that as they grow and they’re now men, you’re looking at them and what they’re able to do, you’re talking about a group that was really intelligent that sacrificed for each other, that never changed who they are.

“Any time I see them, they’re always kind to us and this program. I’m just happy that the university stepped up and did what they did. I think it shows a lot that we do reach back. If there’s anything that we can make right, we do.”

Calipari joked that he was “mad” that the 1996 championship rings were nicer than the ones the Cats received after winning the championship last season.

“We let them design their own rings is what we did. What design do you want? They came up with that design. When I looked at it, I said, ‘That’s nicer than our ring, that makes me mad.’ But it’s nice,” Calipari said. “Again, I think they’re really proud. They tried to get back (for the ceremony). The ones that couldn’t get back were playing or coaching tonight, couldn’t get away.

“It’s interesting, these guys have stayed together, stayed in touch. That’s what this is all about. It’s fun when our players that I’ve coached here are the same way. They stay in touch with each other. They have dinner when they’re in town together, when they’re playing in the NBA, all that other stuff. It’s good.”

Current Louisville coach Rick Pitino was UK’s coach in 1996. Calipari was asked after the game if the championship rings were for players or if the coaches would also get on.

“I don’t know what they did with that. But I do know (player) Scott Padgett, who takes every free lunch he can get, called and said, ‘Am I getting a ring?’”

Padgett was academically ineligible the second semester and returned home to Louisville. He came back to UK the next season and was a starter on the 1998 national title team.

“I know Scott didn’t get one. I don’t know if they made them for the coaches or not. They may have,” Calipari said.

Mays update: Calipari said that senior guard Julius Mays should have no lingering effects from taking an elbow to the head from a teammate during Wednesday’s win.

“I think he had four stitches,” Calipari said.

Mays was injured about midway of the second half. He went straight to the locker room and did not return to the court. He was not available to the media after the game.

For that, the former University of Kentucky standout and 11-year NBA guard credits stamina.

He needed plenty of it, as well as tremendous perseverance, to survive growing up on the streets of Louisville, Ky.

“Every decision I made had a consequence, whether good or bad. It was a really hard struggle, but I never gave in, never gave up and that’s why I made it,” said Anderson, who took his message to an assembly at Washington Middle School on Friday.

Abandoned by both his parents, Anderson was homeless for most of three years as a young teen. He slept in alleys, on park benches, in a gym, in homeless shelters and occasionally in the homes of neighbors.

His half-sister was stabbed to death by a friend of his father. He was nearly stabbed in a fight. He became a father at age 14.

“I never had a summer of basketball camps,” said Anderson. “I got invited to all these camps all over the country, but I had to work those summers to take care of my son.

“Those responsibilities helped me grow up to be a man.”

Now 40, he’s focused on being a role model.

He’d like to have his book, “Stamina,” included in life-skills classes in schools, and he structured much of the book for that purpose.

Washington Middle School principal Jay Hille said several students have told him they want to read the book.

“All of my stories are about life, not about basketball,” said Anderson. “The basketball is to get their attention, but the message is what keeps their attention.”

After Friday’s assembly with 450 students, he stood at the door of the gym with his right hand raised so every student could high-five him. He also stuck around to sign autographs, including on a few sneakers.

“These are my favorite (crowds) because the stories hit home more,” said Anderson, who won an NCAA title with Kentucky in 1996 and an NBA championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat. “They just need someone’s example to follow. They follow rappers and all these entertainers, but they don’t understand the realities of life. But when I come in and talk to them, they understand exactly where I’m coming from because most of them have been through tough times — singles parents, family problems, being bullied. We relate to each other very well.”

Two Washington Middle School basketball players, Kyrique Presley and Jaylen Minor, said Anderson had inspired them even if they are too young to remember his career.

“I learned you’ve got to keep trying harder and keep pushing,” said Presley. “If you get down and you have nothing, you have to keep trying.”

Minor said Anderson told the students to take responsibility for their actions and not be influenced by the wrong crowd.

“I learned to just keep trying and do your own thing and you can make it big,” Minor said.

Anderson said reuniting with his parents, particularly his mother, provided the inspiration he needed to write the book.

“I had internal hurt because my mother and father never saw me play, never supported me in anything,” he said. “But when I finally found them, I realized they were good people who just had issues. I decided I could forgive them.

“Writing the book was therapeutic, very therapeutic. It helped me relieve a lot of anger and hurt I had all those years.”

A former NBA player visits Evansville to share a message about stamina. Former Kentucky Wildcat and Miami Heat player Derek Anderson made a visit to Washington Middle School and shared with students how he overcame adversity.

Anderson is the author of the book “Stamina” which tells of persevering through the trials of life.

“Today’s message was about making sure these kids knew they could make it out of any situation,” said Anderson. “Me being homeless and having a sonnet 14 working two jobs at 15 and 16 becoming a millionaire at 21. These guys have to realize that it can happen. They just have to want it more. The best part about it is making sure they educate themselves. Education is the first part of you being successful in life.”

The Louisville native played in the NBA for 11 years. Anderson has even won an Olympic gold medal and an NBA Championship.

Former NBA star, UK legend and Olympic Gold Medalist Derek Anderson and Jordan Brands presents The Stamina NBA Skills Camp, August 1 – 3 in Louisville at Doss High School, 7601 St. Andrews Church Rd.

The three day camp is designed for players wanting to sharpen their skills so they can have a competitive advantage on the basketball court. They will only be 30 future pros per session.

Anderson will break the camp into three grade levels. Third to fifth grade pros will work out from 9 a.m. until noon. Middle school pros will have their session from 1 to 4 p.m. Derek’s high school pros will take the court from 5 to 8 p.m.

The three-camp is only $150, which includes a T-shirt, Victory Water and pizza provided by Papa Johns.

To register your child, for the Derek Anderson and Jordan Brand Stamina NBA Skills Camp email us at da@derekandersonworks.com with the following information: parent and/or guardian information,   child’s name, age, grade, and T-shirt size.

They first catch up on each other’s lives and families, but it’s not long before they start reminiscing. There are too many memorable moments to count, but there seem to be two they always bring up.

The first is familiar to any history-minded UK fan: that remarkable first half against LSU when the Wildcats scored a school-record 86 points en route to a 129-97 victory. Their coach might not even know about the second.

“The things that we remember most and are most special are a lot of the off-the-court things that we did together as a team,” Jeff Sheppard said. “That’s one of the things that brought us so close together and made us the team that we were on the court.”

Seventeen years later, “The Untouchables” still laugh about it.

“If somebody would have gotten hurt before the Final Four, Coach Pitino would have killed us,” guard Derek Anderson said.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the roughhousing never resulted in more than rug burns. The ’96 Wildcats would finish off a 34-2 record en route to the sixth national title in school history and first in nearly two decades.

“That team was one of the greatest college basketball teams ever assembled,” said Rick Pitino, who coached at Kentucky from 1989 until 1997. “That’s based on a number of factors: passing, cutting, defense, unselfishness, relentless full-court pressure, and a mixture of great players in the upper classes with the younger ones. They had total focus every night on putting their opponent in the ground defensively for 40 minutes. You don’t see that too often from any basketball team.”

That “total focus” started with an uncommon bond the team shared, the same bond that made those hotel-room hijinks so much fun. As a matter of fact, Sheppard doesn’t even think Pitino would have been too surprised or even too angry to learn about the wrestling.

“He probably would have said, ‘That figures,’ ” Sheppard said. “A part of him would have been really upset and a part of him would have been real excited.”

He would have been excited because all the fun times off the court reflected just how special a team that rolled up a 22-point average margin of victory was.

“If you want to see a real brotherhood, you look at that ’96 team and look at us 17 years later,” Anderson said. “We’re still the exact same way. We’re closer than basketball and that’s why we won championships.”

A look back at UK’s roster makes that chemistry even more noteworthy. The Cats were a team of stars, featuring nine players who would go on to NBA careers. Jeff Sheppard – the Final Four Most Outstanding Player during Kentucky’s 1998 title run – played just 12.8 minutes a game and averaged 5.5 points. Nazr Mohammed – the only player on the ’96 team still in the NBA – was stuck on the bench behind the likes of Walter McCarty, Mark Pope and Antoine Walker, so he spent much of the season playing on UK’s junior varsity squad.

“I think the only thing that could have possibly gone wrong with that team was selfishness on anyone’s part and they totally bought in to just ‘championship.’ ” Pitino said. “Because of that, we did wind up winning it. It was an unbelievable run and I’m really proud of those guys on what they accomplished. They were just a great group of guys to coach.”

After UK capped off the title run with a 76-67 win over Syracuse, the Cats were given a hero’s welcome in returning to Lexington from East Rutherford, N.J. They raised a banner to the rafters in front of a full house in Rupp Arena. That ’96 title, however, was during the early stages of when it became commonplace for schools to design championship rings and distribute them to players. UK’s title teams in 1998 and 2012 would both receive team rings, but the ’96ers received only the rings given out by the NCAA.

“We were just happy to win,” Anderson said. “We weren’t really concerned about that.”

Though they never spent too much time thinking about it, UK’s ’96 greats are about to be able to compare jewelry.

In a halftime ceremony at UK’s game vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday, members of the team will be given school rings to commemorate the 1996 national championship. Of the 15 players on the team’s roster, 11 – Anderson, Sheppard, Delk, Walker, McCarty, Anthony Epps, Wayne Turner, Jared Prickett, Oliver Simmons and Jason Lathrem – plan to be in attendance. Pope, Mohammed, Ron Mercer, Allen Edwards and Cameron Mills will receive their rings individually.

“It’s showing what the program’s giving back to us,” Anderson said. “Usually you give so much to a program and they forget about you. When your program remembers you and gives you a blessing like this, it’s just like winning. It’s like actually coming home from winning a championship. It’ll be like coming back to Rupp Arena when we won and seeing 24,000 people celebrating with us again.”

On the night of the ring ceremony, the first 10,000 fans to arrive at Rupp will receive special posters commemorating the team. All members on the ’96 team participating will be available to sign the posters and other memorabilia at the Kentucky Proud Market in the Lexington Center before the Mississippi State game.

The gesture is just the latest in a series of efforts made by the Kentucky program under John Calipari and Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart to reach out to those who were a part of its extraordinary history. Back in August, the ’96 were in Lexington for a team reunion. It was there they were surprised to learn they would be receiving championship rings and their ring sizes were taken. Executive Associate Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy delivered the news along with an invitation to be a part of Coach Cal’s Fantasy Experience and the UK Alumni Charity Game in September.

“It’s the greatest thing ever,” Anderson said. “You’ve given so much of your time and your life, everything to your program, and to have them give some of it back, you can’t say enough about that. There’s no price tag, there’s no winning percentage, there’s nothing you can cherish more than that.”

Anderson, however, isn’t done pouring himself into the UK program. A few weeks ago, he was on campus to speak to the team about the stories of perseverance he writes about in his book, “Stamina”. Not long after, he made the six-hour drive from Atlanta upon learning of Nerlens Noel had suffered a torn ACL, the same injury that ended Anderson’s senior season in 1997.

“What I was telling him and the players is coming from where I come from and the things that I’ve had to endure as a child, it never pushed me away from it,” Anderson said. “It only brought me closer to success by not giving up.”

In town to receive their long-awaited championship rings, Anderson and his teammates will no doubt spend any time they can with current Cats. They are all part of a unique fraternity, one that Anderson only appreciates more as the years go on. He’ll be sure to pass that perspective on whenever he can.

“You won’t get this opportunity to be amongst the best of the best in college and people and athletics and fans,” Anderson said. “You won’t get this opportunity again. So if you don’t embrace this moment now, don’t be upset when you never see it again. You have to find this moment and enjoy it.”

He likely won’t be encouraging any wrestling for team bonding though, especially not if Coach Cal’s in the room.